I'm always wondering
by Moon Lovers Lover
Summary: Wang Yo opened the door with an impatient motion, fixing her with a sharp look. The first thing the third prince said when he entered the room, dropping down to lounge in his chair was; "Faking memory loss doesn't erase your past foolishness. Take my advice, little lady, and stop pretending."


**Author's Note:** I fudged the timeline to make this work:  
• Ha Jin 'drowns' and becomes Hae Soo, coming up in the princes' bath  
• She has her identity crisis (Wook holding out his hand scene)  
• Almost immediately afterwards (the next day) she sees Choi Ji Mong and almost gets run over by So (but no glue-stirring yet)  
• Literally the next day she beats up Eun (the poem thing hasn't happened yet – and won't happen in this timeline)  
• Then she tries to drown herself and go back to modern times again, seeing So's scar  
• Then this chapter happens

* * *

Obviously, nobody was going to believe that she was actually Go Ha Jin from the twenty-first century, so what else was she supposed to do but go with Chae Ryung's exclaimed proclamation of, "The young mistress has lost her memory! What are we to do?"

And even the servant-girl had her doubts about the truth of her own proclamation, asking whether there was some young man from a noble house that she was meeting in secret. "Oh, so _that's_ the kind of girl Hae Soo was…" she said sadly. Chae Ryung was horrified and questioned her no more, the fact that she was referring to 'herself' in the third person enough to convince her. Myung Hee simply took the fact with a peaceful grace and a logical mindset, being kind to her, which she was infinitely grateful for.

'Ha Jin' decided to live as 'Soo' and work hard, and make herself useful. The eighth prince was kind to her, and it was just an added bonus that he was a really nice guy jut in general and that he had a loving relationship with his wife. He was also crazy hot. Of course, so were the rest of his princely brothers, but they were equally crazy. The fourth prince thought that death threats could replace common human, everyday greetings – and he was really wrong – but Soo didn't think anyone had the guts to tell him that. The thirteenth prince was a close friend of Myung Hee's, but she hadn't had a chance to properly talk to him and meet him yet. The tenth prince was a brat, but she guessed that he could be a little bit cute when he wasn't being annoying.

But it was after her fight with the tenth prince, and long wait for her fate to be decided, that she received a letter from a palace servant. Unfortunately, she couldn't read it, no matter how hard she tried. She held it up to the light, squinted at it, swore at it – but in the end she could read only three characters; 'three', 'king' and 'child'.

Outside, she sat down on a rock and glared at it, willing it to reveal its' secrets. What if it was really important? And she couldn't read _anything_ in this stupid dynasty… 'Shit.' "Ah, _seriously_!" she exclaimed in frustration. "I wish I took a class in Chinese characters…" Her shoulders slumped.

"You really are illiterate, aren't you."

The voice of the thirteenth prince startled her and she jerked around, glaring at him saying defensively, "N-no! I'm not!"

He leaned forward, amused, his instrument on his back, ornaments glinting in his hair. "Are you sure?"

'Oh, well…' Soo looked to the side. "You know I lost my memory, right?" she asked him.

"I heard," he said walking over.

"Well, I uh, lost some other things, too…" she sighed.

He tilted his head to the side. "Such as?"

"I can read like, _three_ characters in this whole paper," Soo confessed.

Baek Ah laughed. "I think you also forgot the meaning of the word 'illiterate', too," he said, shaking his head. "I'll help you, if you want," he offered.

Soo grinned, relief coursing through her. "Oh, you're a great guy!" she exclaimed. "Thanks a lot!" He stared at her and she almost slapped herself. "Oh! Right… Your Highness is being really gracious?" she tried, bowing a little. "Is that- That's right, right?" she stopped, looking at him, wincing at her own awkwardness.

The thirteenth prince pressed his lips together to keep gales of laughter from escaping. "It'll do," he said. She smiled, handed him the paper – and he began to read it out loud. "Lady Hae Soo's presence is requested for tea at the third prince's residence tomorrow." Baek Ah's face lost its' smile, and he looked over at her. "Hae Soo, why is my third brother wanting to meet you?" he asked.

Soo shook her head quickly. "I don't know," she said. "I've never even met him before!"

Baek Ah looked pensive. "May I offer some advice? I wouldn't dare turn down such an invitation, but I would be wary."

"Is he a scary guy?" asked Soo, wide-eyed.

"Yo is, if he wants to be. His mother is, _definitely_. Queen Yoo is the reason Wook's family was exiled," he said quietly. "I shouldn't be telling you this, of course, but it's common knowledge – and I don't want you letting your guard down." Baek Ah's lips pressed together. "Myung Hee would never recover if anything happened to you – and you already had such a close brush with disaster after what you pulled with Eun…"

Soo looked guiltily down and she was silent for a while, until she came to a decision, clenching her fists tightly. "I'll go," she said. "I have to, anyway, and I'll see what he wants. Even if his mother has done bad things, he might not be a bad person. And anyway, he's offering me tea!" She smiled, putting on a brave front. "I'll always try my hardest not to be a burden," she said. "Maybe he'll even like me so much that he says something nice to the king about me and I don't get my head chopped off for hitting the tenth prince."

Baek Ah nodded, smiling a little too. "Alright. You should tell Wook about this, though."

"Okay!" Soo hopped down from the rock, taking her paper from the thirteenth prince. "I'll go to him now!" She forgot her manners and only turned back when Baek Ah was quite a bit behind her, and she waved, and then clumsily bowed.

He laughed, shaking his head a little, turning in the direction of the pavilion.

* * *

Wook had given Soo the same advice as Baek Ah, albeit in slightly more polite terms and leaving out the information about Queen Yoo. She did not think much of that, and put it immediately out of her mind.

The third prince's residence was lavish and beautiful, ornate carvings adorning the walls and many other things that looked like they should be a in a museum around the hallways in alcoves. When she compared Wook's house to Yo's, it seemed like a cute little cottage. The curtains looked more expensive than her own robes. 'He must be a very rich person, and he wants people to know it,' Soo thought. 'The Goryeo equivalent of a chaebol?' As a servant led her down the wide hallways, she caught a glimpse of a massive library with a map on a table, and the windows opened. It seemed like a well-used room, and Soo's opinion of Yo which had dropped when she saw his in-your-face rich-ness rose a little bit. 'An intellectual?'

They walked through a portion of the hallway that turned into a porch, and Soo saw an archery range- But then she was in the receiving room and the servant quietly asked her to wait for His Highness to arrive.

The room she was in was nice and light, a large pair of windows both opened out onto the well-kept gardens, and in the middle of the floor there was a table with two chairs at it – all three carved beautifully with ornate backs. Soo sat in one of them, the one that faced the door, and found that they were surprisingly comfortable. The afternoon sunlight warmed the air in the room.

The third prince didn't seem to be arriving and she fidgeted awkwardly, trying to remember what one was supposed to do when greeting a rich prince who may or may not be a scary person. The three princes that she had met so far were all very obviously one or the other; kind, calm Wook – childish Eun and rude, murderous So. Wang Yo might be one or the other, and she really didn't want to have to spend time drinking tea with a guy who threatened to kill her at the drop of a hat. She tried to recall what he looked like, but all she could remember was orange robes, large earrings and sharp eyes. _Abs_! She was pretty sure he had abs and a perennially displeased facial expression. 'Come on, there's gotta be more than _that_. Maybe he'll be nice,' she told herself. 'Think positive.'

Just her luck. He wasn't.

Wang Yo opened the door with an impatient motion, fixing her with a sharp look. The first thing the third prince said when he entered the room, dropping down to lounge in his chair was; "Faking memory loss doesn't erase your past foolishness. Take my advice, little lady, and stop pretending."

It took her a while to realize what he meant, but when she did, her eyebrows went up and her chin stubbornly stuck out. " _Huh_?!" She looked at him, outraged.

He rolled his eyes. "Like I said. Cut the act. You may have fooled Wook but you can't fool me. Don't play your stupid little games, girl," he growled, slamming one hand down on the table.

Soo jumped at the sudden noise, eyes widening. Then she glared, anger overtaking fear. " _Hey_! Look, I've never met you in my _life_! Why are you being so mean to me?!" she snapped at him. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

Yo's eyebrows rose. "Don't make this difficult for yourself," he said.

"What are you even _talking_ about, uh?" she asked, folding her arms, not stopping glaring at him. "At least _tell_ me what you _think_ I've done wrong so I can defend myself properly, Your Highness!"

The third prince's eyebrows rose even further. "You intend to drag this out?" he asked, cold amusement in his voice. "Very well then, Hae Soo-" At that moment, a servant entered through the doors, the woman bearing a tray with a teapot and cups. As she poured the tea and placed the cups in front of them, Yo was silent. Soo quietly whispered 'thanks' when the woman poured her cup. Only when she drew back, Yo lifted a hand and she bowed, leaving. Soo noticed that he wore many rings, all of them looking as if they were extremely expensive, golden and set in with precious stones. 'This guy probably thinks money buys everything.'

"I will tell you, then," Yo said, picking up where he left off, "And it will be most amusing to see you try to deny it all. You think you can use your memory loss to get away with anything. You've beat up Eun and who knows what else – going much, much too far. Your foolishness ends here."

Soo looked flatly back at him.

He shook his head. "I suppose you've forgotten the four times we _have_ met before."

" _Four_?" She looked at him. 'I can't believe poor Soo put up with this jerk four times.'

"You were always an avid reader, and from what I understand, you finally managed to annoy Wook into letting you into the palace library. We met there three times, and each time you spoke unendingly without actually saying anything worthwhile." He looked at her critically. "I know your type, you repeat what others say and think it makes you seem intelligent. But you're only a little girl with big pretentions. I let you prattle on because it amused me to see you make a fool of yourself." He snorted, saying dryly; "I think you were trying to impress me, and your pathetic attempts at flirtation-"

She glared at him, interrupting. "Are you gonna tell me what horrible crimes I've committed in your opinion, Your Highness, or are you just gonna keep insulting poor Soo?"

Yo paused, looking at her oddly. "… _What_?" he asked slowly.

Soo was on a roll, still in 'angry lecture' mode. "Give the poor kid a break, will you? She's probably, what, _sixteen_? Of course she tried to sound intelligent and impress you – she's only a kid trying to seem like a grown-up in front of a handsome man! You don't have to be so cruel! She-" Breaking off, Soo clapped a hand over her mouth. 'Oh, shit.'

The third prince's gaze was not angry, however – it was largely curious and more than a little amused. "'She'?"

Soo tried to smile, her mouth twitching awkwardly. "Uh, 'me'," she corrected herself.

"You're still sixteen, you know," he said, a smirk rising to his lips.

"Oh, uh, yeah? Really?" She tried to smile again. "Huh. O-of course, I totally knew that." 'I'm _twenty-five_ , you jerk!'

Yo leaned back, taking his cup from the table and bringing it to his lips, still looking at her intently. He took a sip, then shook his head. "You really _have_ lost your memory," he said wonderingly. "No matter," he said. "I called you here to make you stop pretending to have lost your memory – but since you truly _have_ lost your memory, and it seems, your _mind_ besides that – there is no reason for us to speak any more. How truly… _Ridiculous_."

"I'm glad you've got an opinion about it, Your Highness," Soo muttered.

"No, it's almost as if you've become a completely different person, Hae Soo," Yo said, ignoring her sarcasm. "From the moment I saw you sitting here," he said, "I should have suspected. The Hae Soo I knew would never sit like that, or say 'huh?!' when someone of a higher rank said something. Especially not myself." He smirked. "Unlike you now, you _then_ were a quiet, well-behaved girl – a bit foolish, a bit boring – but the very epitome of 'Young Mistress Hae'. You beating Eun up… That is something you never even would have _dreamed_ of doing before."

"He was peeping at someone getting changed!" Soo defended herself. "I understand he's young and curious about women, but what he did was inappropriate! So, when he refused to apologize and pushed me over, I uh…" she trailed off. "Maybe we got a little carried away?" she suggested, trying to look cute. A thought came to her; 'Hey, maybe he can put a good word in for me with the king so I don't get my limbs chopped off for slapping a bratty prince?'

The third prince snorted, pressed his lips together, and turned his face down and away as if he was trying not to laugh very, _very_ hard. "You think?" he finally asked.

Soo looked guiltily down.

"You are not the Hae Soo that anyone knew."

Soo looked at him. "I'm Hae Soo," she said obstinately. "I don't know what that means yet, I don't know why I'm like this, and I have no idea what's happening around me. I can't even _read_ now. But I will keep trying my best, live here and now and not be a burden to anyone."

Yo silently looked at her for a long time, seeming to scan her completely, eyes neither critical nor appraising – but neutrally evaluating. He took another sip of tea, and only when he finally put his teacup down did he speak. "If you've truly forgotten everything, I think your memory loss may be, indirectly, because of me. There are things you should know, little lady." His voice was solemn and he didn't look at her as he took his third and final sip of tea. "…At least so that you avoid making the same stupid mistakes."

She looked down and saw her own face reflected up at herself in her tea, familiar, but strange. 'The reason Hae Soo lost her memories and became me?'

"We met four times. I told you of the first three, but the fourth…" Yo shook his head, "That was something else, entirely. …Before you forgot everything, you had a lover. My eighth brother… I don't know what Wook saw in you that he couldn't find in his poor wife, but for whatever reason, he found you comely and decided to court you in secret."

Soo's eyes grew round and wide. "W-what?!" She shook her head. "N-no! That _can't_ be, Your Highness! E-even Chae Ryung said that everyone admired the eighth prince's loving relationship with his wife!" 'He couldn't do such a thing! I know he's a good person, that he wouldn't do such a thing to hurt Myung Hee like that… But then, again…' She recalled his closeness, the glances he sent her way, the careful way he looked at her, as if- ' _No_!' The reason princess Yeon Hwa disliked her so much, the reason Chae Ryung assumed there was a man involved-

It seemed as if Yo didn't know whether to look mildly apologetic or amused, and instead settled on something between the two. "I can assure you that it is true," he said. "It is among one of the worst-kept secrets of the palace. Everyone knows; except for Wook's lady wife, Baek Ah, and maybe the youngest among us princes. Of course, my fourth brother wouldn't know either, I suppose."

Tears rose to Soo's eyes. 'I can't believe it…'

Yo continued. "The fourth time we met was the day before my brothers and I had our ceremonial bath before the exorcism rites. You came to me in tears, saying that Wook didn't understand you – that he wanted to break off your little 'arrangement', and that he didn't understand you, because he showed care for Lady Hae more than for you. You wept and spoke to me of such ridiculous things as true love. I think that the only reason I didn't have you leave was because I was amused, curious and more than slightly taken aback."

Soo simply listened, more tears building in her eyes.

"You claimed that I truly understood you, unlike any person before." He made a gesture as if pulling the ties to the top of a hanbok. "And then you clumsily tried to seduce me."

Clapping her hands to her mouth, Soo stared at Yo. "Oh _shit_ ," she said emphatically. " _Please_ tell me we didn't-…" she swallowed, "Y-y'know-…"

Yo looked as if he was going to suppress another burst of mirth, but he couldn't, and began to laugh. "No," he said. "I did not take you into my bed."

"Oh, thank _God_." Soo slumped in relief. 'That would've been an unnecessary complication to all this… Sure, he's _hot_ – but he's _such_ a jerk.'

He gave her a _look_ , but continued telling the story. "…I laughed in your face and sent you on your way. I told you that you were a foolish girl and that you should let go of your delusions. That Wook may have found you comely, but nonsense like 'true love' doesn't exist outside of books – and that you should keep a tighter hold on yourself," Yo said. "I told you not to cause a scene or any trouble – and wait for your family to arrange a decent match for you."

"Ouch," Soo said, wincing.

"Indeed," Yo agreed. "I may have been harsh, but it was for your own good. You were a perfect little lady who always got what you wanted. If it wasn't me, someone else would say the same words to you at a later point with a greater cost to you."

"Cruel words with kind intentions, kinda thing?" Soo asked.

He raised his eyebrows. "I suppose you could call it that. There was also the fact that I wanted to keep you as far away from myself as possible."

Soo tried really, really hard not to glare.

"You must have been intending to cause a scene, maybe to demonstratively drown yourself in front of us all as we were bathing," Yo said. "You snuck into the Damiwon, your servant-girl following closely behind without your knowledge – maybe trying to make sure that it didn't end badly. But something went wrong, and you ended up falling in before we arrived, sinking to the bottom and not coming up for more than an hour. Your servant didn't know what to do, she lost her head. Staying under the water for so long a time – you were surely dead. But I suppose that it was then that you lost your memories."

"H-how do you know all this?" Soo asked. "Even _I_ don't know all this."

"A combination of assumptions, an assessment of your character before your memory loss – and an interrogation of the servant," Yo said offhandedly. "…We began to bathe. And then you came up, frightening Eun within an inch of his life. Your servant-girl thought quickly and you made your escape. I waited for a while, waiting to see what you would do and what you were playing at, but when you went too far and hit my tenth brother, I summoned you here."

Leaning back in her chair, Soo brought her hands up to her face. 'Oh _god_ … So what am I supposed to do now? What am I supposed to be like around the eighth prince, and what am I supposed to say to the third prince? What will my consequences be for beating up that crappy brat who calls himself a prince?' It was so strange, watching Yo speak in his unaffected way, tearing apart what little of her world that she had managed to put together.

But no. She couldn't give up now. There were people in the world who lied and who weren't like what they seemed, she knew this – knew this well. Her boyfriend and her best friend had betrayed her in the worst way possible – and now, she could only learn from that. She couldn't give up now. She had promised to live as Hae Soo and she would do so, no matter what happened. She got a new chance at life, and if it wasn't perfect, well… What _was_?

Yo watched her, saying nothing, simply waiting for her to do something – maybe gauging her reaction. His face was neutral, with a curious cast to his eyes, and Soo didn't know what he was thinking at all.

Soo looked him in the eyes and smiled. "Okay. Thanks a lot for telling me all this, I'm really glad that you decided to help me out – but I won't just give up like this. I'll live well now, because I've been given a chance to wipe my slate clean and start over. Because I'm Hae Soo."

Wang Yo stared at her. "No," he said quietly, "You really _are_ someone else."

"Well, I _did_ lose all of my memory," she said cheerfully. "If memories make you who you are, then no wonder I'm a different person. I guess I was born again, or something."

He rose from his chair, and she also stood, trying to remember things about etiquette. "I think," he said slowly, "That _this_ Hae Soo is less annoying."

"What a pleasant compliment, Your Highness," Soo said dryly.

Yo looked down at her with obvious amusement. "You realize the only reason I'm tolerating your back-talk is because you're not in your right mind," he said, stern. "Don't push it, little lady."

" _Hey_! I'm not crazy!"

He laughed again, involuntarily. "Go home now," Yo told her. "And think, _hard_ , about what you're going to say to the king when he asks you why you beat up Eun. My advice is to prostrate yourself on the ground and eloquently beg for forgiveness."

Soo bit back a retort about where he could shove his advice, and bobbed into a bow. "Uh, thank you very much for being really gracious to me, Your Highness," she said inelegantly. "I, uh, really appreciate it."

He actually _winced_ at her clumsiness. "…On the other hand," he muttered, "You _could_ just try drowning yourself again and sparing yourself the humiliation."

And before she could snap back something witty at him, he left and she was being escorted back to the gates of his residence with only the thought of, 'What a huge _jerk_!'

* * *

Outside, it was already getting dark, and the lanterns around Wook's house were brightly lit. Wook himself met her at the gates, looking at her with concerned eyes, looking as if he was about to reach for her, but holding back. When Soo saw him, she tried not to flinch, Yo's words echoing through her head, '… _I don't know what Wook saw in you that he couldn't find in his poor wife_ …' '…O _ne of the worst-kept secrets of the palace_ …'

He started forward and stopped in front of her, standing barely far away enough to account for propriety. "Soo…!" he said. "You were there for a very long time. I was beginning to get worried."

Soo made herself smile at him, unconsciously taking a step back. "Oh, you shouldn't have waited! Don't worry about me, Your Highness," she said cheerfully. "His Highness the third prince and I had tea together."

Wook tried to smile back at her, putting his hands behind his back, walking to the house with her. "Is that it?" he asked.

"Yep!" Soo said, cracking another grin. "Maybe he wanted to meet me?"

The eighth prince eyed her oddly, but did not push it.

* * *

Wang Yo was both annoyed and amused, unsure which feeling should overtake the other. Hae Soo was a ridiculous girl with strange ideas in her head – _that_ much hadn't changed. He had a certain disdain for her, as for anyone, but she managed to amuse him despite that. But everything else had changed. She was not shy, not dramatic, not polite… And she had a huge grin that would come out at the most opportune of moments, a bright, cheerful energy and a strange way of speaking that he had never heard before in the sullen girl she was before. She was a completely different person, and it made him both curious and wary.

When Yo had summoned her to his residence to speak with her, he was going to intimidate her, tell her to stop faking memory loss to run away from what she had pulled, and that she had gone much too far in hitting Eun. Already, he supposed, she was terrified and she would break down, begin to cry and beg forgiveness of him, of Wook, of the king, and everything would be over. Perhaps he would keep her secret, but use it as leverage against her, having her keep an eye on Wook (which he could still do). Either way, she would keep to herself from then on, and cause no more problems. But he had miscalculated gravely, and in front of him sat a girl that he had never met before, with round, guileless eyes and ready retorts to his jabs.

' _Hey! Look, I've never met you in my life! Why are you being so mean to me?! I haven't done anything wrong!_ ' she had yelled at him, and he had been so taken aback. _Nobody_ had ever spoken to him like that. And the Hae Soo he knew would never even have _dreamed_ of raising her voice, not to mention at the third prince of Goryeo.

There was something in the way she sat, in the way she moved; clumsily – it was almost as if her _voice_ had changed also. This was not the Hae Soo that Yo knew, and he had to come to the obvious conclusion; she wasn't faking. She had truly lost all of her memories. So, what was Yo to do? There was no point in speaking to her any more. He should have sent her away there and then, but there was something almost _endearing_ about the feisty little lady – and he felt somewhat bad for her. In a way, he supposed, he was responsible for her memory loss. _If_ Yo chose to think that way, of course – which he didn't. She was a stupid, dramatic girl who didn't take his advice. If he had to be _completely_ honest, he liked the new Hae Soo much better, albeit he thought she was much more trouble than she was worth. So, somehow, he decided to tell her everything.

She had taken it surprisingly well, considering – but then again, if she had lost her memories, she had probably lost the understanding of the consequences for her actions. But he decided to be merciful and let her amuse him for a little while longer. His explanations to _himself_ concerning his own actions, his leniency… They were patchy at most. He had never held anything the old Hae Soo said against her, really – and as for the new Hae Soo; he simply was so confused and overwhelmed that he simply had a knee-jerk reaction. Nonetheless, Yo would keep the little lady's secrets, until the need arose to use them against her, of course.

That still didn't explain, however, why he had stood up for her to the king when he had noticed Eun's blooming black eye.

For Yo had bowed, faced the king and said, "If I may speak… This girl, Your Majesty, is not in her right mind – as she has lost all memory of her life since last week, in an unfortunate accident. She does not know who she had hit – indeed, she does not know who she, herself, is."

Eun, maybe, had fallen for her, or something equally stupid – making a speech, and at the end, asking the king, "It might not be right for a girl to hit a prince, but is it right for a prince to let himself be hit by a girl?" having dropped to his knees.

When the king left and they all sat back down, Yo felt the odd gazes of his brothers on him, but he ignored them, calmly taking a sip of tea. Wook looked cautious, Eun confused, Won amused and Jung oblivious, using the silence as an excuse to steal some cakes from the plate in the middle of the table. Baek Ah was looking between Yo and the rest of his brothers, bemusement in his eyes. Yo mentally cursed himself and kept drinking tea. 'If I keep ignoring them,' he thought, 'I don't think they'll go away.' So he glared at Eun, growling, "What are you staring at?"

His tenth brother yelped, jumped and then grinned sheepishly. "Oh! Nothing, Brother. I just… Thanks for backing me up! It was really nice of you!"

Yo rolled his eyes. " _Nice_?" he asked, a note of disgust in his voice.

* * *

The eighth prince caught up to the third prince as he left the palace grounds for his residence. "I must thank you for speaking on Hae Soo's behalf, Brother," Wook said with a slight tilt of his head, looking up at Yo with a mixture of puzzlement and caution. "…She must have made a very big impression on you when you met her, the other day," he added carefully.

Yo looked at him. "She was amusing," he said. "It would be annoying if she was no longer around to… Make things colorful."

Despite noting that there was something off about Yo's words, Wook laughed. It was only as he was speaking, he realized that Yo spoke as if he had met her several times before, with a knowing familiarity. "Indeed. I must assure you, Brother," he said, "She was not like this before-"

"Oh, I _know_ ," Yo said, smirking. "I had no idea what you saw in her, then."

'It is as if he isn't even trying to hide it. Surely, he was not…-' The eighth prince stiffened. "What are you-"

Yo raised an eyebrow. "Surely, you did not think it was so well-kept a secret as that, Wook."

Wook forced a smile.

"I see you made no move to defend her," Yo added, both eyebrows rising, the smirk widening. "Trouble in paradise?"

Wook's smile was thin. "I could not insert a word in edgewise," he said calmly, but fury in his falsely smiling eyes. "Everyone else was rather… _Eager_."

Yo laughed. "Oh, look at _you_ , trying to be subtle. You think I have designs on the little lady? Or perhaps that we had some sort of… Arrangement, prior to this?" He shook his head, still laughing. "I find her amusing, but I do not want her in the slightest. You can have her, Wook – I have no part in this."

The eighth prince was no longer smiling.

"The question remains, however – now that she has changed so much – will she want _you_?"

Wook was silent, until he forced another soft smile and bowed slightly. "Thank you for your advice, Brother, it has been most enlightening," he said. "If you will excuse me…" he turned swiftly and left, Yo's laughter still echoing in his ears. 'You think I have not thought the same thing? Or are you just taunting me?'

When he arrived at his house, he saw Soo sitting together with Myung Hee, struggling with embroidery and swearing in a very un-lady-like way as Chae Ryung stifled giggles and Myung Hee looked scandalized. Once Myung Hee could stand it no more and told Soo that she should take a little rest, the girl looked so grateful that Myung Hee herself had to hide a smile. "Thanks, sis!" she called, scrambling out of the room before anyone could stop her.

Allowing her to bump into him, Wook stepped back and smiled at her slightly. "Embroidery?" he asked mildly. 'How cute.'

She grinned at him in a most un-Hae Soo-like way. "Yep!" She screwed her face up in displeasure. "I, uh, I'm sure I'll get the hang of it at some point – don't worry, Your Highness! I pick things up really quickly!"

"I'm sure," Wook said, unable to suppress a smile as he looked down at her. "Walk with me?"

"Okay!"

They strolled in a leisurely way into the gardens, Soo keeping a proper distance between them, and Wook not crossing it – another reminder of the sudden change to the girl. Wook had his hands calmly behind his back, and Soo balanced on the rocks lining the sides of the garden path like a child, holding her skirts up above her ankles. "My tenth brother begged His Majesty to spare you," he said, as if by the way.

Soo toppled to the side, and he caught her arm to keep her from falling into the pond, pulling her onto the path beside him. "Oh!" she said, staring up at him.

He slowly let go of her arm, face impassively mild. "Careful."

"Uh, yeah…" She now walked beside him in a more sober manner. "So all my body parts won't be cut off?" she asked.

Wook tried to hide a smile. "No."

"Oh, good," Soo said lightly.

"…I was saying, Eun was very eloquent." Wook looked sideways at Soo. "…As was my third brother." 'Take the bait?'

Soo's reaction to his words was both shockingly not at all what he expected, and almost comical in its sincerity. She choked, her eyes bugging out as she stared at him, stopping in the middle of the path. " _Huh_?! Are you _kidding_ me?!" she exclaimed incredulously, her voice sounding as if it had gone up several octaves. "That jerk did _what_?!"

Wook's eyebrows rose and he stared back at her. "'That jerk'?" he finally asked.

"Oh? I-I did I say that? I-I meant 'His Highness'," Soo corrected herself. "I'm just, uh, surprised."

"You did not… Expect him to? I understand you made a favorable impression on him," Wook said, regaining his composure. "After all, it seems he was very… Pleased with you."

Soo shook her head very quickly and very decidedly, her eyes wide. "That guy was acting so contemptuous-" she cut herself off. "I mean- Well, I just didn't think he was the kind of guy who would do that."

Wook let out a small, relieved breath. "Neither did I. …Be careful around Yo, Soo."

"I definitely will," Soo said, still shaking her head with disbelief.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for reading, please tell me your thoughts.


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